The Early Bird

When traffic is at a standstill on a certain part of the M1 you get a really good view of the Meadowhall Shopping Centre. I hate the Meadowhall Centre.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the Meadowhall Centre, it’s just that all that time we spent looking down on it from the motorway, we were supposed to be miles away at Newstead Abbey instead.

Church On Time

A childhood friend was getting married at the Abbey and we were stuck in traffic. It looked like we were going to be late to the ceremony.

Eventually we reached the grounds, jumped out of the car and ran madly towards to the main building.

A man with a walkie talkie ushered us into a low ceilinged gallery.

“Go straight ahead, through the cloister and at the end you’ll meet my colleague. She’ll show you to the chapel.”

We dashed through the 12th century stone walkway, last minute tie straightening and hem gathering as we scurried. 

We were late. But at least we were here now. Thank goodness for that. Now we could just slip quietly into the chapel. No one would need know. Panic over.

A smart lady with a lanyard met us at the chapel door and put her finger to her lips, indicating for us to be quiet.

“You need to go through this door,” she whispered. “But just wait until I’ve been told you can.”

She held her walkie talkie to her ear for a moment longer, then gestured for us to open a large wooden door.

The handle was stiff and the door was heavy. It felt like it was locked. 

“It won’t open,” I mouthed.

“It’s stiff,” she whispered. “Give it a good pull.”

In other circumstances this advice could have led to a happy ending. Sadly not on this occasion.

Hold On

I gripped the handle tightly, pulled down hard and gave the door a firm tug. It swung open.

Holding on to the handle on the other side, desperately trying to keep the door closed, was another venue official. I had swept her off her feet and across the doorway.

Immediately in front of us was the small congregation. All of them had their eyes on us. To the right were the bride and groom, up at the altar, exchanging rings at that very moment.

Behind me I could hear the door-hanging lady hissing furiously at her colleague.

“No! I said DON’T come in now!”

The congregation’s gaze returned to the bride and groom.

We entered, heels echoing loudly on the stone floor. We passed the whole congregation and sat down on two empty seats next to my best friend Dingle, who was grinning broadly.

He nudged me in the ribs. “It’s okay mate," he said. "I think you got away with it.”

True story. Mortifying.

Go Now

No one was sympathetic to our situation. 

“Why didn’t you set off earlier?”

“Why didn’t you listen to the traffic report?” 

“Why didn’t you take a different route when you knew there was an accident? We did.”

The problem was we were the traffic report! The accident that caused the delay was just a few car lengths ahead of us. We were stuck in that hold up for longer than the time it took others to drive the whole journey. 

You can’t make alternative plans to avoid a jam others are hearing about on the radio when you’re already a part of it.

Ironically, we had set off earlier than most of the other guests. There were quite a few who, like us, had driven from Harrogate. We had left before all of them. We’d set off earlier than anybody else but still ended up being later than everyone.

Oh well, you can’t win them all.

We Have All The Time In The World

This is the only time setting off early has ever failed me. It really is an outlier though, so regardless of my 2006 wedding guest trauma, today’s Top Tip is to always be early. 

To organise yourself so that you are ready to leave earlier than you might expect so that you can (almost) guarantee that you will be early.

Being early to important meetings and events is vitally important. Not just on time but actually early. 

I feel that arriving on time is tantamount to being late. To be properly on time you need to be early. 

Being punctual and prepared shows respect for your colleagues and the event. It shows you value yourself and people will notice this.

Be ready to go when the light turns green and your team will be impressed with your punctuality and professionalism.

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

I have to admit it wasn’t always like this for me. In fact for years my time management was terrible. I would do everything last minute.

When I worked in Istanbul I lived 210 metres from the school entrance. It was literally that close - I just checked it on Google Maps. Yet often I would arrive to my lessons with seconds to spare. 

That was nothing to do with traffic jams on the M1. It was just the 1996 me being poorly organised.

Over time I realised that this is actually an exhausting way to live. You think you've got freedom and aren't restricted by the clock but in reality you're all over the place and worried about missing deadlines and letting yourself and other people down.

These days my approach is completely opposite.  I now set off for anything of importance massively early. Buffer time, and plenty of it, needs to be factored in because there are so many unknown unknowns that could sabotage your journey. 

I Crouch In Fear And Wait

When I suggest this at a training day sometimes there is an objection along the lines of “What am I supposed to do if I get there too early?”

Well in my book there’s no such thing as too early. You have to be somewhere, right, so it might as well be at the training venue or the airport with a coffee in your hand. 

Much better than stuck in the car, inching forwards in unexpected traffic, repeatedly throwing nervous glances at the clock.

“Yeah, but isn’t getting there earlier than you need a waste of time?”

Well, it depends on how you use your time once you’ve arrived. It’s easy to prepare and ensure you always have non urgent stuff ready to work on. I’ll often just delve into my ‘to read later’ pile.

Or you can work on your laptop. Or if you’ve forgotten to bring that you can adapt. You’ve got the time. For instance, I’m writing this right now on my phone because my office has been hijacked. My wife is in an online safeguarding meeting so I can’t even pop in to collect my laptop. 

It’s slower typing on my mobile but it does the job and you could easily do this when you arrive early at the train station. 

Or perhaps you’d actually benefit from switching off for a little while. Do a couple of ‘slow down’ or reflection exercises in the time you’ve given yourself. Whatever you choose. The main thing is that whatever you do, you’re in the right place and ready for the main event.

I Dig Every Second

To get somewhere early means you have to be organised in good time. This is a great habit to cultivate. The more organised you are the easier life becomes and the more respect you will earn.

Another benefit is you will be ready to get up and leave on time too. You’ll be ready to up sticks at the scheduled time, unlike some of your colleagues who will be asking one final (most likely irrelevant) question. 

Enjoy being on time this weekend by ensuring you are organised and setting off earlier than you think!